


Hide and Seek

by erikahk



Series: Story Lottery Challenge [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Bounty Hunters, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-27
Updated: 2014-06-27
Packaged: 2018-02-06 11:11:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1855942
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/erikahk/pseuds/erikahk
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>John is running away from bounty hunters and needs to fight to keep going.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hide and Seek

**Author's Note:**

> Story written for story_lottery's joker prompt. I chose to use #10 – hide and seek. Beta-ed by wildcat88.

Tree branches snapped against each other and leaves brushed the ground. The cool wind blew them away and made them dance in the air, letting them rest gently further ahead. John shuddered, but he didn't stop. 

He squeezed his eyes as he limped, now placing most of his weight on the log he had transformed into something between a crutch and a cane. He held in a groan when the movement caused the hot pain in his leg to spike. He took a deep breath before moving again.

He didn't let it last for too long. He forced his body forward, his good leg taking another step and his arms complaining about the strain he had to put on them to support himself with the cane. His hands were white and their palms raw. 

***

The bright midday sunlight touched his face as John stepped out of the wormhole. He heard the gate deactivating behind him and put on his sunglasses. According to Atlantis' off-world contacts, the Venarian people wanted to make a trade proposal that involved plenty of food and minerals. John smiled when he saw a group of villagers approaching and stepped towards them. 

"Greetings," an older man said while bowing his head. "We have been very anxious to meet you." He smiled shyly. 

"Greetings to you." John nodded. "I'm John Sheppard. This is Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex and Teyla Emmagan." 

"And I am Reneen." He extended both of his arms wide and bent his head until it touched his chest. 

"Nice to meet you, Reneen. We heard that you were looking for trading partners," John said when Reneen raised his head again. 

"Yes, please follow me." 

Reneen stepped aside and waved the team towards the unique path that extended from the gate and into the forest. 

***

John's head shot up. The faint brushing noise continued and John noticed the lack of wind. The weak footsteps came from a few meters above John's position and made his heart race. Turning in the opposite direction, John hobbled towards the river bank, where he could hide in the coastal rocks. 

Voices soon joined in and John limped as fast as he could, eyes squeezing shut as the pain doubled then doubled again. The soft footsteps got closer. John glanced above and saw bushes moving with the men's search. The river was just a few meters ahead. 

Right leg and left arm. Hop. Right leg, left arm. Hop.

Loud brushing snapped his head around. John saw the shadow of a head and turned towards the bank and hopped using his good leg, doing his best not to whimper when the jumping escalated the pain. Just as he was a few steps from the rocks, his left leg joined in and tried to push him forward. 

His vision whited out as red fiery agony engulfed him. John bit his lip hard to hold back the scream and reached out to grab to stony wall to prevent himself from collapsing. 

***

They were being followed. John had noticed it a little after the team entered the forest and glanced at Ronon. The look he got back made clear that Ronon knew it too. Teyla glanced at them both and nodded. John gripped his P90 tightly and saw Ronon's coiled stance as he fell slightly behind. 

John figured there were at least two of them walking parallel from each side, using the trees as cover. He exchanged a glance with Teyla. She held his gaze then shifted her eyes to the left. John flicked his to the right. He nodded once and turned around, gun pointed, and walked into the follower's position. He sensed Teyla doing the same and glanced back briefly to confirm each teammate's position.

Rodney by now had his own weapon raised and had stopped in the middle of the track, covering the villagers. Teyla was following the opposite direction from John's and Ronon had disappeared into the forest. 

Weapons fire erupted and John only had time to turn around before he felt the familiar buzz of a wraith stunner hit him. 

***

John followed the river, never going too far from the protection of the rocks. His good leg was shaking and barely able to continue doing all the heavy work by itself. He wanted to stop for a few moments, but that was out of question. It had been only luck that had kept John from being spotted by the bounty hunters and if he stopped again he wouldn't be able to continue. 

John moved slowly now. Right foot, left stick, small limp. His shoulder ached in rhythm with the muscles of his left arm. He squeezed the log until his right hand went white. His right leg almost gave out when it touched down. He grabbed onto the rock to regain balance, but soon continued on his way. 

How screwed was he. The hunters were spread throughout the forest looking for him while all he could do was move slower than a turtle. He was in no condition to put up a fight if they found him. But it didn't matter. He just had to keep going.

***

Numbness didn't let John move anything but tingling fingers. 

Voices surrounded him. They talked, and John's distant brain filtered most of what was being said. 

"…escaped…"

"…others..."

"…not needed…"

"…reward…"

John felt his body being carried over a shoulder. Each bounce increased the feeling creeping up his extremities, until he could feel his arm, then his chest, then legs. He didn’t know where his team was or if they were uninjured. He had no idea who these people were or what they wanted, but it had looked like he had been the target. 

The talking had stopped. John was thrown on the ground and managed to stay limp. 

He heard the DHD dialing and the gate activating. Then the bursts of a P90, and another. John shot upright and made a run towards the closest guy, tackling him from behind. He grabbed the man's gun and turned to make a run for cover. 

The energy buzz that hit him made his body convulse before collapsing. Strong arms grabbed him before he hit the ground and dragged him towards the active Stargate. 

***

John wiped his forehead, taking a moment to breathe. A cool wind dried his skin and made him shudder. He rested his head on the stone beside his body, supporting most of his weight with his shoulder. He started to slump, but caught himself. Pushing his body away from the rocks, he went back to limping. 

***

A hammer falling heavily on his leg had jerked him back to consciousness. A toothy grin sneered in front of him as John grunted in pain, fighting back tears of agony. Men around him laughed and left John tied against a tree.

"Just try to run away now!"

John gasped through the pain of the smashed bones, resting his head against the trunk he was tied to. He tugged at his ropes and found them loose enough to escape. The men looked back at him and John didn't need to fake the pain he was in. 

Who would try to run away with a smashed leg?

***

John couldn't run, but he could limp. And it was enough for him. It didn't matter where he was heading. It didn't matter if the gate was in the opposite direction. All that mattered was not being found until Atlantis sent help. He had to keep playing this game of hide and seek until then.

Just until then.

***

He hobbled forward. His right leg bent and made him lose his balance. He came crashing down, log and legs tangling together and a cry of pain echoing in the forest. He whimpered, tried to breathe through the worst of it, the hot throb pulsing in his leg and whiting his vision for several seconds. He opened wet glazed eyes, seeing the trees above him in and out of focus, spinning and circling around his head. He breathed deep, realizing he had been hyperventilating and on the edge of fainting. 

His eyes drifted close for a while. _Just for a small rest_ , he promised himself. _Won't fall asleep._

They snapped back open before they finished shutting. 

He had to keep moving. He couldn't stop, but he was so tired. Eyelids drooped again as twenty hours of pain-filled limping and hiding in the forest crashed down on him, pulling him in for just a few minutes of sleep. 

_Just a few minutes,_ he wanted to whisper. _Just a few minutes._

***

When John came back to his senses, daylight had disappeared and bright moonlight showed the outlines of the forest. His heart raced. How long had he slept? John looked at his watch and tried to remember when he had last checked the time. He didn't know how close to dawn it had been when he fell. He cursed at himself and rolled his body to the side. 

The pain in his leg spiked and made him groan, his body trying to curl in on itself. It took several seconds for the pain to subside to manageable levels. When it did, he breathed deep, braced himself and tried to sit up. It had never taken him so long to execute such a simple task. His body simply refused to obey, muscles and bones screaming, begging for him to stop. He bit his lip, begging in return for them to work and get at least this part done. They compromised after a very long fight. In the end, John was sitting against a tree, a faint smile showing his small victory. 

Getting up would be even harder. John waited for a few moments, regaining his breath. Sure that his body would continue protesting no matter how long he stayed put, John simply decided to get it over with sooner rather than later. 

He gripped the tree behind him, nails carving the bark as he forced his one leg into sustaining his weight. He grunted and swallowed the scream of agony, tears of misery threatening to spill again. His vision whited out and he nearly passed out again. When he came back, he found himself hugging the tree with one arm, his face planted on the trunk. He breathed in deeply until the ground settled horizontally. 

He hopped ahead without taking an extra second to think about rest. He whimpered as he moved and honestly had no idea how he managed to go twenty steps before falling again near the mouth of a cave. Its cold floor was much too inviting for him to let it pass. It was stupid, he knew. But it was either staying covered, or passing out again in the open. The entrance was narrow and he could cover it from the safety of the dark interior. 

He really did try to stay awake.

***

John woke up to a steady beep and the smell of disinfectant. A buzz inside his head made his body feel too lightweight for him to do anything other than smile. He felt a hand grasp his and squeeze gently. He didn't even try to open his eyes. He simply turned his head slightly towards the presence and let himself fall asleep again. 

He could ask all the questions later.


End file.
